


Storm Clouds Clearing

by Elke Tanzer (elke_tanzer)



Category: Mulan (1998)
Genre: F/M, Introspection, Yuletide, challenge:Yuletide 2008, recipient:nephthys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-24
Updated: 2008-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 00:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elke_tanzer/pseuds/Elke%20Tanzer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On his way to the Fa family home, Captain Li Shang sorts out his thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Storm Clouds Clearing

The rhythm of Shang's horse's hoofbeats keeps company with the circular pace with his thoughts. The damp chill of the thunderstorm's rain tries to seep through every seam of his clothing. He travels along the muddy road without pause, however, with his memory of the Emperor's words chasing his memory of others' words, including his own, tangling in a rounded snarl in his mind.

_The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all._

_You said you trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?_

_You don't belong here, Mulan. Go home._

The Shang who could say such things was not the Shang who rode so quickly now, each galloping footstep taking him closer to the Fa family home. This Shang knew better... and yet... and yet... the stinging voices and their old doubts still lingered.

How could she be trusted? How could she have had the audacity to do what she had done? How dare she impersonate a soldier?

And yet she had done what needed to be done to save the Emperor.

And if he was ready to face the honesty of it... yes... she had done what needed to be done to save Shang himself, not once but twice.

_A life for a life. My debt is repaid._

What man would admit that his life had been saved by a woman... twice?

Well... the Emperor, for one. Fa Mulan had saved all of China. And that was enough to change everything, to shake the roots of the mountains and remake the world.

And then there were Fa Mulan's own words... that she had only done what needed to be done to save her own father, had only taken on the duty of going to war when there had been no other honorable option.

The Li family had taken on such duty had passed such responsibility from father to son for generations. There had been few daughters, and his father had counted himself blessed to have such a son as Shang.

He seemed to recall that the Fa family had had few sons in the elder generation. Fa Zhou's well-known bravery, strategy and heroism spoke volumes about the honor of the family. But this generation, there had been no sons of mention, aside from the supposed son he had known as Fa Ping.

Shang wondered whether there were more daughters at home, more children to feed, more young women to find matches for. There were so many things he did not know of Fa Mulan.

But Fa Ping? Fa Ping Shang knew.

_Ping, you are the craziest man I've ever met, and for that I owe you my life. From now on, you have my trust._

Fa Ping had been a bit reckless, more than a bit uncoordinated at first, and a bit undisciplined, but eventually, with training, Ping had become both quick and strong... and he had always been clever and even more so, always well-intentioned.

A father would have been proud of such a son, to progress so far so quickly in preparation for war. A Captain would have been proud to have such a young soldier in his unit, and soldiers would have been proud to serve alongside such a peer.

But Fa Ping had not really been a soldier, not really been a peer...

The Emperor's words chased the lingering doubts again.

_You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty._

Fa Mulan had been more than a peer, more than a soldier. She had possessed the spark of inspiration, and a keen awareness of hidden danger. She had used both and then had taken action. She had taken initiative like a firework once lit, taking charge and stepping fearlessly into situations the most hardened of soldiers might have hesitated to face, and might have had serious difficulty conquering.

A General would count himself lucky to have such a Captain under his command.

With more battle experience, such a young Captain could later become a great General.

Was he really thinking of a woman in such terms? Was he man enough to admit that the world was wide enough to accommodate such a possibility?

The Emperor had seemed to have little trouble doing so...

And the Emperor had obviously had little trouble envisioning Shang together with Mulan, envisioning the joyful joining of the Li and the Fa families.

The reliable rhythm of his horse's hoofbeats suddenly shifted, its gait adjusting.

This patch of road was washed to gullies from the recent storm, and the horse, unsure of its footing, had slowed but did not falter, pressing ahead steadily.

Shang would do the same.

This was unfamiliar terrain, but he had finally had enough of the dissenting voices. His mind had cleared, like the sun breaking from behind the summer storm clouds.

He would get to know Fa Mulan, get to know the woman who had been the man he had known as Fa Ping.

Such a woman must be fascinating to know.

Such a woman would likely keep him guessing for the rest of his life, and yet would also be as trustworthy as the mountains, as honorable as China itself.

And such a woman could be beautiful, in thought and in deed and... and in form. He could face that now as well, that the man he had trained, the man he had sparred with, the man he had commanded, the woman who had saved China... yes, she could be beautiful. Yes, she was beautiful.

Such a woman would fascinating to forge ahead with along life's path.

Such a woman had somehow, suddenly, simply become the only sort of woman that Shang could now envision joining to form a family with. And now he did envision that family... strong, honorable sons, and strong, honorable, beautiful daughters... a happy, healthy family, and one that would make the ancestors proud.

And of course, every moment along this road brings him closer to the Fa family, and to Fa Mulan, and to Fa Zhou.

The Fa Zhou.

And while the man might not now be so physically formidable as he once had been, Shang realized with a bit of a start that he now needed to prove himself as a potential son-in-law to the honorable hero of his own father's wartime stories.

Perhaps he would pause more than momentarily on his way to the Fa home to wash the mud from his clothing. And perhaps he would also take the time to carefully polish the armor and the helmet of the honorable Fa Mulan before he respectfully approached her home.

Eloquence had never been among his best strengths, but perhaps his actions would speak on his behalf.


End file.
